These days, The Sims get all the attention, but the massive metropolis-building game SimCity started it all. The classic favorite makes a return in a brand-new installment featuring upgraded gameplay in SimCity Societies.

Like many of the games that would later copy the city-building formula, SimCity's developers painted the franchise into a corner. They had literally thrown in the kitchen sink with SimCity 4, and between infrastructure planning (power lines) and underground water mains, the game had become far too complex and unapproachable to attract any new players. Societies hits the reset button and steers the franchise in a different direction. Players can still get their city-planning skills going, but with one-third the micromanagement. Both power and water pipes will be removed, leaving players with only road design and traffic to manage. However, Societies shifts attention from zoning out areas to creating entire cultures to match their cityscapes.

In addition to building up simolians (the game's currency), each city generates "social energies." These energies come in six forms: Industry, Wealth, Obedience, Knowledge, Creativity and Devotion. Different buildings give off specific energies and citizens adapt according to the city's vibe. By using this design, players can toy with various social experiments that include eco-friendly buildings, whacky Creative cities with gingerbread houses or dystopian police-states. Or players can go for it all and even try for a free-wheeling eclectic society.

The decisions the player makes have major impacts on how their cities turn out. A technology-free society might not require simolians to construct new buildings, but will rely on generating manpower instead. The game's interface, including the text font and music, will even change to match the city's mood.

New building types and bonuses become available as cities expand in certain directions. Creating a strong dystopian society will earn the "Master of Puppets" medal, permanently unlocking several Obedience buildings and granting players 15 free Obedience points for each new city they start, making it much easier to repeat similar city types. Although citizens will come to reflect the city's profile, SimCity mayors will still need to manage over their happiness; though police states will settle for general contentment. Societies will dispose of bothersome advisors and go with a straightforward, visual design. Which means, if citizens become bored or malcontent, they could go on a vandalism spree. Destruction causes parts of the city to be shut down, eventually leading to complete metropolitan paralysis. Homes need to placed appropriate distances away from jobs, and venues must generate happiness in order to keep things from getting out of control. A news ticker keeps players up-to-date on major events. In the meantime, they can spend their time using the streamlined controls to drop buildings down, including an eyedropper tool used to copy and paste existing buildings.

Open-ended free play will remain a huge factor. Players can still develop disasters onto their cities and watch how emergency responders react. Big Brother can put his secret police to the test by setting up pockets of dissent throughout and see how things turn out. Just like in previous games, statistical overlays can be brought up to show crime rates, property values and social energy production.

This could be the city planning project this franchise needs. Come back to GameDaily for the full review of SimCity Societies, scheduled to release November 2007.

Related Links

SimCity Societies Game Guide